The DeBarges' smooth harmonies and El's solo work kept R&B feeling warm.
For the family sound, 'All This Love' still lands. His solo take is right there in 'Sexy Lady', same falsetto, just a little later.
That falsetto on 'All This Love' gave early-80s soul a new kind of glide. The family harmonies on 'Rhythm of the Night' turned a dance track into something tender. Even later solo cuts like 'Heart Full of Love' held onto that vocal clarity when a lot of R&B got slicker.
It started with seven siblings from Grand Rapids cutting 'The DeBarges' in 1983. After the group paused, El kept recording, from 'In a Special Way' to the 2008 album 'Second Chance'.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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